Freedom CC Team Visits the One of a Kind Show

The Freedom team took a field trip to the One of a Kind show to support our artists and designers. It felt a little bit like a reunion - we got to say hi to our out-of-town designers that we barely get to see, catch up with those that have gone MIA in preparations for holiday madness, and check out a wide selection of their goods. It was inspiring to see the booths that each of them put together. These little habitats shed another light into their creative vision and resourcefulness (of course, upscycled and restyled materials were often used in the building of these nooks). Without further ado, here are some quick shots that we took to share with you guys!

atelier b., made in Montreal by Catherine Metivier and Anne-Marie Laflamme. We carry an extensive selection of their extremely well-made, sustainable line. Each of us owns numerous items by them and we're still wanting more!

Jen Kneulman is the power girl behind Freshly Printed: a line of organic tea-towels, aprons, and other kitchen wear. She prints at her Harbourfront studio with all natural dyes

Based in Montreal, Cindy Cantin makes incredibly well-made bags from wool felt and leather that she obtains from furniture factories. Learn more about her line by clicking here.

Another fabulous Montreal designer is Noujica. These. Scarves. Are. The. Warmest. And. The. Coolest. Cannot emphasize that more.

Krystal Speck makes colourful earthenware with imagery from nature. Her pieces bring a bright touch of the outdoors to your kitchen and home. She's based in Toronto, but sometimes scours Ontario farmlands for discarded wood, in this case, she used these remnants for this comfortably rustic booth.

Made just a few minutes away from Freedom, these mittens by SLO are becoming a common sight all around Toronto. Made from upcycled wool sweaters and lined with fleece for extra comfort and warmth. Check out these new ones for them little guys!

Julie Sinden boiled hats are almost like a collector item. It's too hard to choose just one, the colours and styles are just adorable and you can find one to match any winter coat. The best part, your head still breaths, no one likes a sweaty hat head!

Last but not least is Voyou by Lise-Marie Cayer, who is so sweet she got us free tickets to the show. This whole blogpost would not happen without her generosity, and yet ironically, Marsya forgot to take a photo of her booth. Truth be told, she was too distracted by her new winter coats. (They come in black and red, with tan leather detailing and huge pockets.) Good thing Karen snapped a photo while Marsya wasn't looking.

Email I got

Last week I delivered the yellow dresser to a lovely young family that purchased it, and below I am sharing the email I received the next day... I can't even begin telling you how much this meant. Thank you guys!

"Thanks again for delivering the dresser, especially in a rainy day. We were so happy to have the dresser at home, it looks so nice and contemporary with that bright yellow color. Can you guess who was the most excited to see the dresser? It was not me, not my husband, it was my baby who is only 11 month old. She just couldn't ignore the dresser, she was pointing at it and asking me to bring her to it. She played with those flower knobs for about 20 minutes and couldn't let them go. She was pointing at the patterns on the dresser as well. She was still excited after we took her away from it. We were worried that she was going to be up all night from the excitement. Good thing is she finally tired out and fell asleep. I wish I had a photo of that moment, too bad my digital camera was not working for some reason. Thanks for producing such a nice piece. Keep on your great work!"

Tea Towel Art

During my last trip to Australia this past January I came across a beautiful old buss scroll (the kind that is printed on canvas and that the driver had to manually switch for every stop). Well, the one that crossed my path was priced at $1,000 - which was way out of my art buying budget. So instead I bought a tea towel at a local St.Kilda store called Scout. The tea towel listed all the streets surrounding the store with the store's name being featured as final destination. At $18 a towel, I could not pass on it. Back in Canada I started scouting for a frame, and quickly came across an ornate beauty that only lacked the glass pane and some paint. And here you have it, my final art project at a fraction of a cost and just as cool. As the matter of fact, here is the total price breakdown:  Tea towel $18 + Frame $5 + Glass $8 = immeasurable happiness!!